Scott's Thoughts
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Multisite Update: 3 Campuses, 1 Service Everywhere, Developing Leaders, Budget, This Crazy Thing Actually Works!
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While a few of our Staff now regularly get around to all 3 campuses, from the beginning of multisite, I’ve had the almost entirely unique position of regularly seeing all of them. (On most non-preaching Sundays, I try to make it to all 3. And even when we had 2 and I preached 2 services, I usually had time to visit both.)
But this summer, vacation meant I saw all 3 campuses for 3 straight weeks, and I’m here to report—this multisite thing actually works! (Forewarning: typical long and unwieldy Scottified sentence is next.) Now, bear in mind that I’m talking about our very specific, tightly-controlled, and heavily centralized-and-decentralized multisite structure in a homogenous rural(ish) demographic, where we are quite rare in multi-world for having full-time Campus Pastors at each location who are functioning more like disciplemaking pastors than “face with the place” hosts who are often there to do little more than give the announcements (and hawk the celebrity pastors’ podcast and books. We all know that’s obviously not FCC!)
All that being said, I’m super encouraged to report that each campus is growing well—deeply and widely—and that this growth is less fly-by-night than it has sometimes been in our past. We’ve settled well into 1 Service Everywhere, Life Groups are doing better than ever (with almost 40 in attendance at our recent Leadership Training), our centralized programs like re:gen, Re|engage, Pillar, and 180 are strong, and we are seeing quite a few young emerging leaders jump into ministry and theological education. That doesn’t mean everything is always up-and-to-the right. There is always ongoing leadership struggles, difficulty getting the right people in the right places, sin to deal with, and a hundred other normal problems, but… for me, the encouragement of seeing all 4 campuses steadily grow healthy is the encouragement of seeing the body work!
Btw, speaking of multisite, our structure, etc., here’s a brief financial update. (All figures are through June 2025.)
FWIW, in basic terms, we are about as lean as possible in terms of size of our budget and scale/complexity of being a 3-campus multisite church. Many churches our size have significantly larger annual budgets. (I.e., we aren’t stopping at 3, so please continue faithfully giving and we leaders will continue doing our best at faithfully stewarding!)
And while we’re posting some metrics, here are a couple of my favorite ones to celebrate: YTD Baptisms (23) and Memberships (26)!
But this summer, vacation meant I saw all 3 campuses for 3 straight weeks, and I’m here to report—this multisite thing actually works! (Forewarning: typical long and unwieldy Scottified sentence is next.) Now, bear in mind that I’m talking about our very specific, tightly-controlled, and heavily centralized-and-decentralized multisite structure in a homogenous rural(ish) demographic, where we are quite rare in multi-world for having full-time Campus Pastors at each location who are functioning more like disciplemaking pastors than “face with the place” hosts who are often there to do little more than give the announcements (and hawk the celebrity pastors’ podcast and books. We all know that’s obviously not FCC!)
All that being said, I’m super encouraged to report that each campus is growing well—deeply and widely—and that this growth is less fly-by-night than it has sometimes been in our past. We’ve settled well into 1 Service Everywhere, Life Groups are doing better than ever (with almost 40 in attendance at our recent Leadership Training), our centralized programs like re:gen, Re|engage, Pillar, and 180 are strong, and we are seeing quite a few young emerging leaders jump into ministry and theological education. That doesn’t mean everything is always up-and-to-the right. There is always ongoing leadership struggles, difficulty getting the right people in the right places, sin to deal with, and a hundred other normal problems, but… for me, the encouragement of seeing all 4 campuses steadily grow healthy is the encouragement of seeing the body work!
Btw, speaking of multisite, our structure, etc., here’s a brief financial update. (All figures are through June 2025.)
- 2025 General Fund Budget (for reference): $1,050,000/yr
- General Fund (GF) Budgeted Need: $525,000, (which works out to $20,102/wk)
- General Fund Giving: $532,154, (which works out to $20,467/wk)
- General Fund Expenses: $543,118, (for a deficit of $10,964, which is not great but also not uncommon for the first half of the year. We usually end up around $10k in the black by the end of the year.)
FWIW, in basic terms, we are about as lean as possible in terms of size of our budget and scale/complexity of being a 3-campus multisite church. Many churches our size have significantly larger annual budgets. (I.e., we aren’t stopping at 3, so please continue faithfully giving and we leaders will continue doing our best at faithfully stewarding!)
And while we’re posting some metrics, here are a couple of my favorite ones to celebrate: YTD Baptisms (23) and Memberships (26)!
Yesterday’s Family eXPerience & Everyday Boring Faithful Service
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I made a brief pastoral appearance at yesterday’s “Family eXPerience” (FXP). Aside from being drenched by one of the kids who claimed an adult (who goes to Afton, can sometimes be found at Kids Check-In, and is a Doctor) told them to do so—I was so heartened by the attentive volunteers and the dozens of kiddos sliding down our super cool blow-up rides and playing water games! We’ve got quite the setup, y’all. The kids had a great time, and I hope the parents/adults who dropped them off enjoyed a couple hours of relative peace! (And I hope Dr. YouKnowWho is satisfied with himself!)
But what always also strikes me is how much “everyday boring faithfulness” is involved in any such event or program. What the kids don’t see is that our staff and volunteers planned the day, scheduled the helpers, promoted purchased supplies ahead of time, set them up the day before, arrived 3-4 hours ahead of time, and ended up having to not only clean up while exhausted, but turned out that also meant fixing an emergency leak in the baptistry! All for a 2-hour Family eXPerience!
There’s a good reason we highlight everyday boring faithful service at FCC, and it’s because it’s what makes for long-term God-glorifying disciples who don’t give up when it’s not as exciting as it looks on the socials. It’s humble servants who make kids events, Sunday mornings, and everything in between happen in a way that can bear Kingdom fruit—in those serving and being served. When our lives are focused on the mission of Helping People Find and Follow Jesus and we don’t care who gets the credit, God can get a lot done!
But what always also strikes me is how much “everyday boring faithfulness” is involved in any such event or program. What the kids don’t see is that our staff and volunteers planned the day, scheduled the helpers, promoted purchased supplies ahead of time, set them up the day before, arrived 3-4 hours ahead of time, and ended up having to not only clean up while exhausted, but turned out that also meant fixing an emergency leak in the baptistry! All for a 2-hour Family eXPerience!
There’s a good reason we highlight everyday boring faithful service at FCC, and it’s because it’s what makes for long-term God-glorifying disciples who don’t give up when it’s not as exciting as it looks on the socials. It’s humble servants who make kids events, Sunday mornings, and everything in between happen in a way that can bear Kingdom fruit—in those serving and being served. When our lives are focused on the mission of Helping People Find and Follow Jesus and we don’t care who gets the credit, God can get a lot done!
Hope Center: Volunteers & Banquet
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For those unaware, the Hope Center and Honeysuckle Studios are our local pro-life pregnancy resource and housing center focused on providing physical and spiritual care to pregnant women. A couple of us FCCers have been on the Advisory Board for a while now. They do great work that is worthy of your prayer and financial support. For the last few years we have supported them from our General Fund. I mention all that because of a couple things about which I want to make you aware.
- Volunteers Needed – 1-3 hrs once weekly, to help with basic mentoring of Moms/Dads. Dads especially needed. Training provided through the Hope Center. Contact them at (423) 638-5433. Also, we’ve had FCCers who have volunteered in this way who can give you the details.
- Annual Fundraising Banquet, Thu, Oct 23 – Every year, about 60 or so of you receive some sorta email or Basecamp msg about this, so I wanted to give y’all an early heads up. Also, if you’ve never been, but you wanna learn about what they do, let us know, and we will make sure to save you a place at one of our 7-8 tables. It’s always an encouraging evening filled with stories of God‘s work to save babies and minister to families in need. FYI, there is no requirement to give, but there will be an opportunity to do so that evening. If interested, email office@fccgreene.org.
Miscellaneous Musings
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Pay Attention to the 24/7 Organic Feedback
For good reason, it is axiomatic in ministry how-to seminars, and in the Christian life generally, that we all need someone in our lives who speaks the truth in love to us for our growth (Ephesians 4:15). Even though most Christians don’t have many such voices in their lives in explicit terms, let me give you a shortcut most miss. If you’ll pay attention, people are giving you unsolicited valuable feedback all the time. If you’ll let it be, the body of Christ is God’s built-in feedback loop. Others’ encouragement, criticism, sigh, smile, and glance—even when unintentional—can be received as God’s way of shaping you through His people. The question is: are you humble enough to listen?
Needed: More Intentional Self-Reflection
As someone with 30 years of anecdotal people-ministry data, who spends hours each week forced to filter my own thoughts, emotions, and intentions through God’s Word, and who tends to live in his head, I’ve long noticed that very few of us intentionally reflect on our inner world when it comes to what motivates our responses. That’s not the same as merely noticing we feel something—it’s a deeper, prayerful self-examination of what drives our emotions and choices.
One caveat before some suggestions: emotions themselves are not the enemy. They are indicators that point us to what we love, value, or fear. For the Christian seeking to “take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5), here are a few intentional questions for self-reflection:
It’s all easier said than done, of course. And it takes time—lots of time, perhaps many years. But learning to be led by the principles of God’s Word in the long-term can’t happen if we’re not being intentional in the short-term.
(Btw, those are all very re:gen questions. Hint, hint.) ;o)
Stop Downplaying the Normal Miracle of Regeneration
I was recently at a church leader training conference where the speaker told a heartwarming story of how the church prayed for a woman with cancer. It was lovely, and many listening responded with awe and tears, including me. Now, I believe the story, I believe in prayer, I believe God still does miracles and applies His supernatural grace and power to the world, and I believe we should pray as such. And nothing I’m about to say detracts from the miraculous power of prayer. I have many loved ones in my life who have suffered deeply, prayed for, and experienced healing. But… when we focus on God’s miraculous work as if healing cancer is better than a regenerated heart, something’s off. Because the greatest miracle is not a healed body but a new heart. A cancer-free life is still temporary, but a sin-forgiven life is eternal. Let’s not forget that the ordinary miracle of salvation is infinitely greater than any extraordinary healing.
People Over Pixels
I sent a version of this to my kids and thought it might help you too. The other day I was asking ChatGPT to help me with some wording. After giving me options, it followed up with: “Would you like me to do this?” My first instinct was to reply, “Nope, I’m fine, thanks”—and then it hit me: Who cares if I don’t answer AI?! It’s just 1s and 0s.
I’ve noticed it often ends with an open-ended question, as if it’s drawing me into a conversation. Now, there’s nothing wrong with this—it’s just trying to be “helpful.” But here’s the danger: just because AI asks you a question doesn’t mean you need to answer. That tiny threshold is where humans start interacting with technology as if it deserves the same kind of relationship as humans.
Be careful to not waste your time and energy on things and tech instead of those made in God’s image—people. My main thought for you: Don’t let AI or anything onscreen become a “companion,” because they don’t actually care about you. It doesn’t love you. It can’t care about you. Only God (and your Mom and Dad) and people can.
Leadership Thoughts
For good reason, it is axiomatic in ministry how-to seminars, and in the Christian life generally, that we all need someone in our lives who speaks the truth in love to us for our growth (Ephesians 4:15). Even though most Christians don’t have many such voices in their lives in explicit terms, let me give you a shortcut most miss. If you’ll pay attention, people are giving you unsolicited valuable feedback all the time. If you’ll let it be, the body of Christ is God’s built-in feedback loop. Others’ encouragement, criticism, sigh, smile, and glance—even when unintentional—can be received as God’s way of shaping you through His people. The question is: are you humble enough to listen?
Needed: More Intentional Self-Reflection
As someone with 30 years of anecdotal people-ministry data, who spends hours each week forced to filter my own thoughts, emotions, and intentions through God’s Word, and who tends to live in his head, I’ve long noticed that very few of us intentionally reflect on our inner world when it comes to what motivates our responses. That’s not the same as merely noticing we feel something—it’s a deeper, prayerful self-examination of what drives our emotions and choices.
One caveat before some suggestions: emotions themselves are not the enemy. They are indicators that point us to what we love, value, or fear. For the Christian seeking to “take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5), here are a few intentional questions for self-reflection:
- What is motivating your response? What are you really wanting in this situation?
- Why are your emotions rising so strongly—what desire, fear, or idol might they be pointing to?
- Do you process your emotions prayerfully under God’s Word, or do you let them guide your response unchecked?
It’s all easier said than done, of course. And it takes time—lots of time, perhaps many years. But learning to be led by the principles of God’s Word in the long-term can’t happen if we’re not being intentional in the short-term.
(Btw, those are all very re:gen questions. Hint, hint.) ;o)
Stop Downplaying the Normal Miracle of Regeneration
I was recently at a church leader training conference where the speaker told a heartwarming story of how the church prayed for a woman with cancer. It was lovely, and many listening responded with awe and tears, including me. Now, I believe the story, I believe in prayer, I believe God still does miracles and applies His supernatural grace and power to the world, and I believe we should pray as such. And nothing I’m about to say detracts from the miraculous power of prayer. I have many loved ones in my life who have suffered deeply, prayed for, and experienced healing. But… when we focus on God’s miraculous work as if healing cancer is better than a regenerated heart, something’s off. Because the greatest miracle is not a healed body but a new heart. A cancer-free life is still temporary, but a sin-forgiven life is eternal. Let’s not forget that the ordinary miracle of salvation is infinitely greater than any extraordinary healing.
People Over Pixels
I sent a version of this to my kids and thought it might help you too. The other day I was asking ChatGPT to help me with some wording. After giving me options, it followed up with: “Would you like me to do this?” My first instinct was to reply, “Nope, I’m fine, thanks”—and then it hit me: Who cares if I don’t answer AI?! It’s just 1s and 0s.
I’ve noticed it often ends with an open-ended question, as if it’s drawing me into a conversation. Now, there’s nothing wrong with this—it’s just trying to be “helpful.” But here’s the danger: just because AI asks you a question doesn’t mean you need to answer. That tiny threshold is where humans start interacting with technology as if it deserves the same kind of relationship as humans.
Be careful to not waste your time and energy on things and tech instead of those made in God’s image—people. My main thought for you: Don’t let AI or anything onscreen become a “companion,” because they don’t actually care about you. It doesn’t love you. It can’t care about you. Only God (and your Mom and Dad) and people can.
Leadership Thoughts
- As soon as someone “gets” what you’re trying to teach them is the moment you have to let go of getting any credit for it.
- In church ministry, to lead primarily by others’ expectations rather than principled mission is a recipe for the illusion of having pleased people while feeding their idols, dulling their discipleship, and starving their souls.
Posted in Scotts Thoughts